The unsung heroes of 2016: our top ten moments

2016 has been a challenging year in the UK and abroad. But some amazing things have been happening, and people like you have been busy making the world a better place. Digital Editor at WaterAid Florence Stuart-Leach charts our ten great moments from 2016.

1. Toilets took centre stage at Glastonbury

More fabulous WaterAid supporters than ever volunteered at Glastonbury this year to help spread the word about taps and toilets, and hundreds of festival-goers took a seat on the most entertaining loo in the whole of Worthy Farm.

4. The challenge of a lifetime

You took on challenges big and, well… bigger! From crawling through loo seats at Tough Sh!t, our loo-themed obstacle course, to climbing mountains and cycling across countries and even continents! One incredible supporter ran 17,000 kilometres from Vancouver to Buenos Aires.

Funds were raised, fun was had and people around the world saw the benefit with brand new taps and toilets!

WaterAid/Jamie Ramsay

Jamie Ramsay taking a rest on the road.

5. Cutbacks at the office

We went behind the scenes at a British office with a difference – an office with no loos. And just as for the one third of humanity living without one, the results weren’t pretty.

6. Telling tales of life without water

Noori Tales, a new exhibition from WaterAid and the H&M Foundation, captured the reality of growing up without clean water in the Indus Delta, Pakistan, as photographer Malin Fezehai told us about community, climate change and the power of photography.

7. All about innovation

Teams from our water industry partners and companies in the UK and Australia battled it out to come up with the most effective life-changing solutions to water, sanitation and hygiene challenges in Cambodia. They also raised funds for projects around the world. In October, Dragon’s Den investor Deborah Meaden crowned the winners.

WaterAid/Tim Ireland

Deborah Meaden with the winning team Aspara from Anglian Water at WaterAid’s Water Innovators Awards 2016.